Well they have arrived!
After having a great time eamiling staff at 4wfs and being really suprised and impressed with their service I received the fins and boxes today so here are some pics. Followed shortly by my thoughts… after I have ordered my pizza…
ok… pics didnt work…
I’ll sort it out and post them in about half hour…
Just the mention of 4wfs makes me wanna jump on the springbok to capetown to ride my geraghty 4wfs board which is still waiting for me at muizies…
when youre there catch a wave for me!!
Also look out for a big yellow tonka truck which I lost there when I was about 6… only 22 short years ago, if you find it pm me 
I think its somewhere to the left of the steps… away from the scratch patch, simons town and bolders…
eyes glaze over
anyway…
here are those pics…
And some more…
dimensions relative to pizza
when youre there catch a wave for me!!
Also look out for a big yellow tonka truck which I lost there when I was about 6… only 22 short years ago, if you find it pm me
eyes glaze over
anyway…
here are those pics…
Hoe gaan dit almal!
Can’t quite see a truck… but I just priced flights for May so I’ll be sure to let ya know…
LOL!
That’s a neat set with the fins, is the jig from wood? You got a collar for the router with that?
Be sure to post how it goes.
Hi Riffraff! How much did all that cost You and where did You get sent from and where are You at yourself?
Those fins look very very nice! Interesting foil!
Keep us posted on how the install goes and how the boxes hold up to those big fins. I guess they must have tested them, but You never know?
pizza looks really good…
Who did this foil?
It looks an awful lot like there is an unintended bump in the foil about 2/3rds of the way back…that was my point. The glass layer lines give it away.
Holy cow those are some tiny and shallow tabs. Makes one question the strength of the system.
"It looks an awful lot like there is an unintended bump in the foil about 2/3rds of the way back…that was my point. The glass layer lines give it away. "
not sure who shaped them but I inspected them very closely out of the box and they look great. I think the “bump” you might be looking at is actually concave as the inside foil is concaved - one of the shots shows this lined up with a bit of wood to try and show this off a bit…
the only fault I could pic is that the leading edge is foiled about .5mm out on the LHS fin which I cant imagine would matter at all on a surfboard fin.
Everything above came to AUD$78 plus postage
foils were AUD$50
the tabs are reinforced with what looks like aluminised tooling resin.
Overall the quality looks pretty good and being able to play with the cant and toe in/out is great.
riff
Tabs are about 40mm long and about 13mm deep - might look a bit deceptive on these fins as they are fish keels the fin box is about 55mm in diameter - like a giant fcs plug.
Riff
When compared to FCS tabs the 4wfs ones are very nearly twice the length and about 25% thicker so the tab is easily strong enough.I have seen somewhere recently on Swaylocks about the least stressful position of the tab is near the front of the fin.
I have used these smallish keel fins for a couple of months and have had no problems with boxes or fins. I have been also using some tall twin fins that tom@daum makes for 4way in their high glass content material. No problems their also.
Regarding the foiling, I have looked at mine and they are nicely done with the inside concave looking right. My eyes go twizzle when looking at the photo so cant see well enough how those compare. (mine are finished different so I cant see weave).
The grey on the tabs is epoxy to make the tab the right shape/thickness because the glass is laid flat but the fins are canted 5 degrees. Didn’t explain that well.Its a filler not a reinforcing.
Well after speaking to Maike at air-core technology on the gold coast (queensland australia) he offered me a great deal.
The fins where AUD$50
Boxes about $8 each (come with 0 degree inserts)
and inserts with different cant adjustment where also around 8 or 9 bucks I think - cant remember.
whole lot came to AUD$78.00 - cheap as chips if you ask me given the quality of the gear - it looks excellent.
very comprehensive instructions, even a DVD showing the install and with interviews etc.
Ususally you would have to pay more for the jigs and weights pictured but I explained to Maike that I only make one board every now and then and didnt think I would get great value out of buying all the jigs just for one install, so he shipped them off to me on loan free of charge so when Im done I’ll send them back to him - He is a REALLY nice guy… stoked on shaping and really keen to see a board come together “just right” as soon as I mentioned that I might try the install without the jigs he was like “you probably could but no, really, we’ll sort something out”
It took about 2 days from ordering to have the parcel card in the mail. I live in melbourne (Victoria, Australia).
Install will probably happen early next week…
Would I go back again? yes!
Riff
Riffraff I just sent a PM with a few hints to make your 4wfs install easier.
Mark
Thanks Mark,
read it and will follow your tips!
cheers,
riff
Hi there Riff Raff,
Fins look good.
Keen to see how the board comes out.
-Cam